In Marseille, a city profoundly marked by its Catholic heritage, a new controversy has erupted: the sudden cancellation of the film "Sacré Cœur". Socialist mayor Benoît Payan decided to call off the film's screening just one hour before its scheduled showing at the Château de la Buzine, invoking the principle of secularism.
This decision immediately sparked anger among many elected officials and the faithful. LR Senator Valérie Boyer denounced it as an openly discriminatory act of censorship: "Marseille welcomed the Pope but the Mayor cancels the film 'Sacré Cœur' in the name of secularism," she wrote on X, before adding bitterly: "Soon the removal of the Christmas market, nativity scenes, crosses, Provençal exhibitions, or books about Jesus in libraries?".
Censorship with a Scent of Anti-Catholicism
The film "Sacré Cœur", directed by Steven Gunnell, a former member of the group Alliage, and his partner Sabrina, traces the birth of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the ultimate symbol of divine love. Nothing political, nothing extremist: a spiritual and cultural work, shown in a cultural venue. Yet, the mayor chose to yield to a rigid and ideological interpretation of secularism, at the expense of freedom of expression.
The mayor of the 11th and 12th arrondissements, Sylvain Souvestre, also expressed his indignation:
"I am very surprised that the argument of secularism is put forward to justify the said cancellation, given that a film has cultural value, especially in a cultural venue." He recalled that such a restriction can only be legitimate if it is based on a legal foundation, aims for a specific objective, and remains proportionate. This is clearly not the case here.
"Wake Up, People of Marseille"
Director Steven Gunnell reacted emotionally in a video that has gone viral. He called on residents to stand up against this attack on cultural freedom:
"You have the right to see this film if you want to see it. It is not possible for this film to be boycotted in Marseille, the first city in France consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Wake up, people of Marseille. Do not let this happen."
This heartfelt cry resonates all the more strongly as his film, released on October 1st, has already drawn over 40,000 viewers in one week, proof that the public was eagerly awaiting this work.
An Acknowledged Hostility Against Christianity
The director revealed he had faced several promotional refusals even before this cancellation. The advertising agency MediaTransports, responsible for posters in subways and train stations of the SNCF and RATP, refused the advertising campaign, deeming the film "confessional and proselytizing," and therefore "incompatible with the principle of public service neutrality."
An absurd argument, when one knows that these same advertising spaces unscrupulously display horror films like "The Nun," "The Exorcist," or "Conjuring," all centered on the supernatural and the demonic. The filmmaker had already denounced this on Europe 1: "So, 'The Nun,' 'The Exorcist,' 'Conjuring,' yes, but Jesus, no." A phrase that alone summarizes the climate of double standards that prevails in France whenever Christianity is involved.
Secularism Perverted
It is essential to understand that French secularism has never meant the censorship of religion. On the contrary, it guarantees freedom of conscience and the free expression of convictions, provided they do not disturb public order. What is being trampled here is precisely the spirit of the 1905 law: we are no longer protecting the neutrality of the State; we are imposing silence on the Christian faith.
And what irony! The city of Marseille, which had the honor of welcoming Pope Francis just one year ago, is now becoming the symbol of a municipal anti-clericalism worthy of the 1880s.
A France in Need of Awakening
Faced with this situation, the director's words sound like a warning: "We have the right to exist, to show ourselves, and to live." This struggle goes beyond the mere framework of a film. It touches on the very identity of France, the eldest daughter of the Church, and the freedom to transmit its spiritual heritage.
What happened in Marseille is not a mere anecdote: it is a sign of the times. France is forgetting its roots, and every time a mayor invokes secularism to silence the name of Christ, a part of its soul is extinguished.